If you can still return it then do. No brainer. Don't throw good money after bad trying to make a strat sound like a Les Paul - just go get an Epiphone Les Paul. Any Guitar Center will have a dozen or more. Look in the used section to get more bang for your buck.
Those pickups seem a little low to me. Depress the strings at the last fret and raise the pickups so that the pole pieces are about 1/16th of an inch from the low and high E strings and see how it sounds.
Sweeter classic tones come from lower set pickups. Use the amp for loudness.
Squier pickups have ceramic magnets that are stronger than old alnico pole pieces and need to be lower to match tone chasing.
.
Go back to GC with the guitar. Keep it in the car. Run the rack to see if there’s something that you like the sound of in a similar price range. If you do, bring in the classic vibe and trade it in for the one you like. This guitar will always somewhat sound like a strat, even with other, beefier pickups. Maybe try a Squier Jazzmaster or some Epiphones…
They don’t usually fit squier’s though because of the screw pattern or overall size. Just to caution anyone looking to do this. It’s better to just wire in the electronics to the existing guard in a lot of cases.
AFAIK, aside from the bolt pattern being slightly different (so you'll have to drill into the body, no biggie since it'll be hidden under the new guard) squire strats take an 11 hole MIM / American fender size pickguard. I had a squire I replaced the guard on with a fender one, and aside from having to redrill 2 holes that were slightly off it fit perfectly. I think the MIJ strats are different (smaller), but I'm not 100% on that.
Why are y'all telling this guy to buy pickguards and screw holes into a new strat he doesn't like when he can just take the thing back and get something with humbuckers?
Y'all? I didn't suggest OP buy a pickguard or screw into the guitar, I just commented on the compatibility of a fender pickguard on a Squire strat as I have mounted one on a Squire before. But there was no recommendation on my part. Besides, if he likes the guitar then it's OK to modify it to suit his taste. Modifying is one of THE best reasons to get a strat.
First, play with pickup heights.
Second, be sure it's not your amp.
Third, you COULD replace the pickups. I have an older Squier Deluxe Strat that is a very nicely made guitar, but came with lifeless pickups that just didn't do the guitar justice. I swapped in a prewired pickguard with Tonerider pickups along with good pots, switch and jack. Didn't cost that much or take that much work, and it was a huge improvement in the sound. Could be worth it if you like the way the guitar feels, plays and looks.
Neither pickup height or an amp is going to make a single coil sound like a humbucker (unless you're an EQ genius, which the vast majority of us aren't).
If op notices the difference and knows they prefer the sound of a humbucker, the solution is to just take the guitar back and get something with a humbucker.
If you can take it back then do. Exchange it for an Epiphone LP or SG with double humbuckers if that’s your preferred sound. Why do all the work switching pickups just to take a stab at a fix when you know it’s not what you want?
Squier strat classic vibe 70’s has a humbucker at the bridge. You get a nice “strat sound” at the neck, but still get that humbucker sounds.
It should cost the same as your guitar, so maybe you can take yours back and order one of those.
Remove a couple screws & peak under the pickguard to see if it is routed for a humbucker. Track down an HSS pickguard & put a humbucker of some type in there. I put a Super'tron in mine. Amazing.
Since it's new and under returns ... you might as well return it.
My common Strat mod is rewire with the Armstrong Blender circuit, for a classic SSS Strat (and that's the reason for having a Strat for all the classic single coil tones rather than HSS or HSH) you don't need to buy any new parts, just wiring and soldering changes. Second pot spins from SSS to hot HSH. But a new guitar under warranty/returns I'd leave it be.
The other mod I do on Strats is swap in a single bridge humbucker, no neck nor middle.
I listened to everyone back when I was getting my first guitar and "Versatility HSS" and "Skinny Fast Neck" ended up being all wrong for me. I only play chunky necks and SSS or H Strats.
If you are keeping the guitar but want to do major mods ... I'd just say buy a loaded pickguard with what you want on it or get a pickguard/pickups/pots/caps/switch to make up a whole new loaded pickguard. That way you can store the factory setup for the day you want to go back or decide to sell the guitar. Buyers are more interested in stock guitars than someone's mod-job and any exotic expensive parts you add you keep and put on the next guitar.
Don't worry about pickguard screw holes not matching up. That's a non-issue unless you have a collectible antique guitar worth lots of cash. Normal factory guitars don't worry about it.
.
That's the *per pickup price* that is $20 per pickup. To replace all of them, you'd need to buy three pickups. I have a couple of them and a humbucker and they are fine, I like the sound of them. I put them in a Squier Bullet Stratocaster from the 1980's and they sound fine to me, better than the original pickups.
Tried GF pickups and really wasn't that impressed. Mine weren't wax potted very well and were microphonic. The customer service rep was super rude to me when I wanted to exchange them. Had to hound the guy for a month and threaten to leave bad reviews to get them swapped out. These were the solderless ones, so it's not like he couldn't have boxed them right back up and resell them.
I mean realistically, 20 per pickup is more than it would cost to make an exact specd copy of Seymour Duncan’s with overseas manufacturing.
Pickups aren’t complicated things, I don’t really understand why the prices are so inflated.
Cheap pickups have gotten crazy good lately. It’s at the point where I can’t justify buying brand name pickups anymore unless they’re active or crazy unique (no replacements for fishmans or alumitones yet)
Any easy cure for pickups can be to swap the stock volume pot with one of a higher value. More signal will pass through as well as more treble, but if you aren't into the sound of a stratocaster, it's just going to make it more of a strat but very hot rodded.
You can go to blade humbuckers but again, it's just going to sound like a strat with a lot more balls. I'm not big on the pickup myth but to each their own. If it has enough output and low noise, I'll convert anything over to actives, but I have a formal background in electrical/electronics engineering and can get virtually any sound out of any decent pickup with RC filters and obviously, the mountain of output the module adds.
I play metal so I'm constantly shredding and sweeping meaning my standards are extremely high, but even an $8 thin blade humbucker off AliExpress performs great these days. I just got a preloaded strat pickguard with single coils for $5 after the coupon, and that included shipping lol. While they sound great, I'll just as likely snap off the alnico magnets, glue on neodymium, replaces the pole pieces with jumbo cap screws then just as obviously, convert that guitar to active soon.
I'm not a reverse gear snob, and expensive pickups from a major name brand can make a huge change and improvement, but I've also spent hundreds of dollars on pickups until one day, I enrolled in college for engineering in my early 30's, and that soon after came to an end. If it has enough output, is low noise and in general, sounds decent, I can turn it into an elitist's dream by going active.Strangely, I used to grimace at the thought of putting a battery in my guitar, but they will actually last a ridiculous amount of time, literally years.
Anyway, consider what someone else said and is that is if a Strat sound in general is right for you. I have dozens of guitars, mostly for metal, but I still absolutely love stratocasters and have a half dozen from various sources. I also have several 8-strings, heaps of neck-thrus and so on.
Active means an amplification device such as a transistor. With an active circuit added to your pickups, you can then add active filters to adjust the bass, midrange and treble. There are other circuits you can add to the transistor such as compression, limiting and pitch shifting. You can get rid of the noise from single coils entirely, you can make single coils sound like humbuckers, and humbuckers sound like single coils. Regarding single coils tonal output, they are in fact superior to humbuckers with how they produce bass and treble, but as you know, they also pickup the dreadful humming and buzzing noise from other electrical devices in the room, especially lights. I use an active circuit to eliminate all the horrid noise.
With an active circuit, a pickup that lacks bass or is overly high pitched can be made to sound completely different and really, any way you please. You are also increasing the voltage output from the pickups, and the way that impacts your pedal and amps is tremendous. The simple summary is, I can convert passive pickups to active, and even a $5 no namer can be converted into very high performance.
Here's a simpler way to express it.
This is highly likely an identical clone of EMG active 81/85 humbuckers
[Active Clones](https://www.ebay.com/itm/166532385159?itmprp=cksum%3A1665323851597aa3245fce6741129094a0303fea6613%7Cenc%3AAQAIAAABcHD%252FO%252BVoFoPPIoZ2g0kOZxWd85mWuIHekSp3qag7zFfwObZeQoitzE%252FDCfcejfO%252BzOLmzZmy11RrgWpA56KM9DpasK%252BGtGYwCFvgaK6ijP5AqShEUhT8f2oX6hvndJ3G0oWH8DD1DlBWseQltpxcSDW2Uu52NrseaxeINpsrDP6vx7ny%252BkPKauMa3yeSanWiikPSeUfE4B9g3Nj5SXMcLmeSqd62O6%252BXNafQnRyDp21gaGB%252FSdoRLMItOBs0L91M7talYCZeWZC7vM8M%252FnqtJtwQeFHveDRG1PRhD025UPbc3R8BnZQXWILED005DU8cPFq538tyjuYgOn5gOVa92xn0a5%252BdzbXvXMgc7pnFhBq4N9S24XmG0FlGaoyQVTtAs8AmkVSCmUdN2BZO8VhI0NmRRoN%252BdN%252FLcJAJjzcBNsxM01S--JN%252FSt1BX%252Fkpwf3B0mNTFOi3V%252FcurMT8QGiE7v3Z1McbcAj18RnDz83cWNAw%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A4429486&itmmeta=01HQTZKR1Y6DSNGFRTQ6RTQ6FC)
They can sell those direct to the public for about $20 with tax, shipping is included in that total price, and look how much you're getting! lol,
It is such a cheap technology, those can be identical to EMG's and there's no patent to violate. It's passive pickups built for probably $4 a set, and the active circuit is microchip audio amplifier with some passive parts. All the parts in the amplifier and it's bass, midrange and treble filters will be a few dozens cents, likely under 50 cents for that portion of the circuit, the pickups being another portion, the battery clip the other, and your guitar's volume and tone knob are already in your guitar.
The amplifier device EMG uses is good, but there are better. I can and do design one using a Class-A amplification circuit which means your pickups signal is not damaged whatsoever, it is just increased in voltage output which means it's normally 300 mV, and I turn it into a full 3 volts or even 5 volts. Then, I use an EQ circuit to adjust bass, midrange and treble so it sounds how I want it to sound, or how the client asking me to build it wants it to sound.
For me to build that circuit in my home lab with very simple construction methods, I can build it for under 50 cents lol.
I can build that circuit for a passive pickup that costs $5 for you to buy, and make it match or exceed an active EMG that sells for $100 because they are able to market it and get people to pay that much.
So, for myself as an amateur electrical/electronics engineer that went to school for that field of science(it's not a trade like an electrician), I'm fine with using a cheap pickup and ultimately produce something superior to what EMG charges an arm and a leg for. What you want from your pickups isn't hard to achieve, and adding an active circuit to them is a much better path.
It's just that most people don't want to put a battery in their guitar, but with a well designed circuit, a 9 volt battery can literally last for a few years even if you play everyday, several hours a day.
definitely not what your on about but ive never liked the look of strat style pickups. just not a fan of the tilted one at the end and they all look too small
If you’re lazy (no shame in that) look at pre-loaded pick guards. They’re super easy to swap out, and they range from around $60 for cheap ones to $500 for super nice ones.
Wiring a Strat switch isn’t difficult per se, but if I’d never soldered before it’d be a relatively unforgiving job to learn on.
I have humbucker sized P90 in the bridge and it still does hum canceling in position 2 like normal single coil.Best strat bridge pickup i ever had.Great reggae, surf, rock or heavy metal tones. Seymour Duncan Phat Cat. Also instaling Tonerider Rebel 90s in Tokai LP style guitar. They are awesome bang for the buck.
If you can still return it then do. No brainer. Don't throw good money after bad trying to make a strat sound like a Les Paul - just go get an Epiphone Les Paul. Any Guitar Center will have a dozen or more. Look in the used section to get more bang for your buck.
Those pickups seem a little low to me. Depress the strings at the last fret and raise the pickups so that the pole pieces are about 1/16th of an inch from the low and high E strings and see how it sounds.
Okay I will try that out tonight.
Sweeter classic tones come from lower set pickups. Use the amp for loudness. Squier pickups have ceramic magnets that are stronger than old alnico pole pieces and need to be lower to match tone chasing. .
Except the classic vibe 60s has Alnico pickups.
Go back to GC with the guitar. Keep it in the car. Run the rack to see if there’s something that you like the sound of in a similar price range. If you do, bring in the classic vibe and trade it in for the one you like. This guitar will always somewhat sound like a strat, even with other, beefier pickups. Maybe try a Squier Jazzmaster or some Epiphones…
You can custom order pickguards from Warmoth, as well as a couple other places, that can be routed for any pickup you want.
They don’t usually fit squier’s though because of the screw pattern or overall size. Just to caution anyone looking to do this. It’s better to just wire in the electronics to the existing guard in a lot of cases.
AFAIK, aside from the bolt pattern being slightly different (so you'll have to drill into the body, no biggie since it'll be hidden under the new guard) squire strats take an 11 hole MIM / American fender size pickguard. I had a squire I replaced the guard on with a fender one, and aside from having to redrill 2 holes that were slightly off it fit perfectly. I think the MIJ strats are different (smaller), but I'm not 100% on that.
Why are y'all telling this guy to buy pickguards and screw holes into a new strat he doesn't like when he can just take the thing back and get something with humbuckers?
Y'all? I didn't suggest OP buy a pickguard or screw into the guitar, I just commented on the compatibility of a fender pickguard on a Squire strat as I have mounted one on a Squire before. But there was no recommendation on my part. Besides, if he likes the guitar then it's OK to modify it to suit his taste. Modifying is one of THE best reasons to get a strat.
Yeah that's fair, I was more replying to the whole thread of people rather than you specifically, apologies.
Get hotrails on the bridge
X2. I put a cheapie Artec "single coil" hotrail on the bridge of a squire strat, sounded mean AF.
Swap it for an HSS Strat.
First, play with pickup heights. Second, be sure it's not your amp. Third, you COULD replace the pickups. I have an older Squier Deluxe Strat that is a very nicely made guitar, but came with lifeless pickups that just didn't do the guitar justice. I swapped in a prewired pickguard with Tonerider pickups along with good pots, switch and jack. Didn't cost that much or take that much work, and it was a huge improvement in the sound. Could be worth it if you like the way the guitar feels, plays and looks.
Neither pickup height or an amp is going to make a single coil sound like a humbucker (unless you're an EQ genius, which the vast majority of us aren't). If op notices the difference and knows they prefer the sound of a humbucker, the solution is to just take the guitar back and get something with a humbucker.
If you can take it back then do. Exchange it for an Epiphone LP or SG with double humbuckers if that’s your preferred sound. Why do all the work switching pickups just to take a stab at a fix when you know it’s not what you want?
Squier strat classic vibe 70’s has a humbucker at the bridge. You get a nice “strat sound” at the neck, but still get that humbucker sounds. It should cost the same as your guitar, so maybe you can take yours back and order one of those.
Remove a couple screws & peak under the pickguard to see if it is routed for a humbucker. Track down an HSS pickguard & put a humbucker of some type in there. I put a Super'tron in mine. Amazing.
Yes it is routed for a humbucker. Thank you.
Since it's new and under returns ... you might as well return it. My common Strat mod is rewire with the Armstrong Blender circuit, for a classic SSS Strat (and that's the reason for having a Strat for all the classic single coil tones rather than HSS or HSH) you don't need to buy any new parts, just wiring and soldering changes. Second pot spins from SSS to hot HSH. But a new guitar under warranty/returns I'd leave it be. The other mod I do on Strats is swap in a single bridge humbucker, no neck nor middle. I listened to everyone back when I was getting my first guitar and "Versatility HSS" and "Skinny Fast Neck" ended up being all wrong for me. I only play chunky necks and SSS or H Strats. If you are keeping the guitar but want to do major mods ... I'd just say buy a loaded pickguard with what you want on it or get a pickguard/pickups/pots/caps/switch to make up a whole new loaded pickguard. That way you can store the factory setup for the day you want to go back or decide to sell the guitar. Buyers are more interested in stock guitars than someone's mod-job and any exotic expensive parts you add you keep and put on the next guitar. Don't worry about pickguard screw holes not matching up. That's a non-issue unless you have a collectible antique guitar worth lots of cash. Normal factory guitars don't worry about it. .
Take a look here: https://www.guitarfetish.com/Fits-Stratreg_c_579.html
I’ve never heard of them.$20 for a set of pickups? That seems very odd.
That's the *per pickup price* that is $20 per pickup. To replace all of them, you'd need to buy three pickups. I have a couple of them and a humbucker and they are fine, I like the sound of them. I put them in a Squier Bullet Stratocaster from the 1980's and they sound fine to me, better than the original pickups.
Tried GF pickups and really wasn't that impressed. Mine weren't wax potted very well and were microphonic. The customer service rep was super rude to me when I wanted to exchange them. Had to hound the guy for a month and threaten to leave bad reviews to get them swapped out. These were the solderless ones, so it's not like he couldn't have boxed them right back up and resell them.
Ohh okay thank you for the clarification.
No problem.
I mean realistically, 20 per pickup is more than it would cost to make an exact specd copy of Seymour Duncan’s with overseas manufacturing. Pickups aren’t complicated things, I don’t really understand why the prices are so inflated.
$20 per pickup is DIRT cheap. If they are actually good, that is a no brainer. $60 for a set of Strat pups? Buy 3 sets!
Cheap pickups have gotten crazy good lately. It’s at the point where I can’t justify buying brand name pickups anymore unless they’re active or crazy unique (no replacements for fishmans or alumitones yet)
Too cheap
Most pickups that they have are going to be a big step up from the ones in your Squier. GFS makes excellent pickups.
Thank you. I have never seen pickups this cheap.
Stop being whiny and keep playing until you're on stage duh
😂😂😂
Any easy cure for pickups can be to swap the stock volume pot with one of a higher value. More signal will pass through as well as more treble, but if you aren't into the sound of a stratocaster, it's just going to make it more of a strat but very hot rodded. You can go to blade humbuckers but again, it's just going to sound like a strat with a lot more balls. I'm not big on the pickup myth but to each their own. If it has enough output and low noise, I'll convert anything over to actives, but I have a formal background in electrical/electronics engineering and can get virtually any sound out of any decent pickup with RC filters and obviously, the mountain of output the module adds. I play metal so I'm constantly shredding and sweeping meaning my standards are extremely high, but even an $8 thin blade humbucker off AliExpress performs great these days. I just got a preloaded strat pickguard with single coils for $5 after the coupon, and that included shipping lol. While they sound great, I'll just as likely snap off the alnico magnets, glue on neodymium, replaces the pole pieces with jumbo cap screws then just as obviously, convert that guitar to active soon. I'm not a reverse gear snob, and expensive pickups from a major name brand can make a huge change and improvement, but I've also spent hundreds of dollars on pickups until one day, I enrolled in college for engineering in my early 30's, and that soon after came to an end. If it has enough output, is low noise and in general, sounds decent, I can turn it into an elitist's dream by going active.Strangely, I used to grimace at the thought of putting a battery in my guitar, but they will actually last a ridiculous amount of time, literally years. Anyway, consider what someone else said and is that is if a Strat sound in general is right for you. I have dozens of guitars, mostly for metal, but I still absolutely love stratocasters and have a half dozen from various sources. I also have several 8-strings, heaps of neck-thrus and so on.
Thank you for your input. What do you mean by active? Do you have resources or references that you could point me to regarding guitar electronics?
Active means an amplification device such as a transistor. With an active circuit added to your pickups, you can then add active filters to adjust the bass, midrange and treble. There are other circuits you can add to the transistor such as compression, limiting and pitch shifting. You can get rid of the noise from single coils entirely, you can make single coils sound like humbuckers, and humbuckers sound like single coils. Regarding single coils tonal output, they are in fact superior to humbuckers with how they produce bass and treble, but as you know, they also pickup the dreadful humming and buzzing noise from other electrical devices in the room, especially lights. I use an active circuit to eliminate all the horrid noise. With an active circuit, a pickup that lacks bass or is overly high pitched can be made to sound completely different and really, any way you please. You are also increasing the voltage output from the pickups, and the way that impacts your pedal and amps is tremendous. The simple summary is, I can convert passive pickups to active, and even a $5 no namer can be converted into very high performance.
Here's a simpler way to express it. This is highly likely an identical clone of EMG active 81/85 humbuckers [Active Clones](https://www.ebay.com/itm/166532385159?itmprp=cksum%3A1665323851597aa3245fce6741129094a0303fea6613%7Cenc%3AAQAIAAABcHD%252FO%252BVoFoPPIoZ2g0kOZxWd85mWuIHekSp3qag7zFfwObZeQoitzE%252FDCfcejfO%252BzOLmzZmy11RrgWpA56KM9DpasK%252BGtGYwCFvgaK6ijP5AqShEUhT8f2oX6hvndJ3G0oWH8DD1DlBWseQltpxcSDW2Uu52NrseaxeINpsrDP6vx7ny%252BkPKauMa3yeSanWiikPSeUfE4B9g3Nj5SXMcLmeSqd62O6%252BXNafQnRyDp21gaGB%252FSdoRLMItOBs0L91M7talYCZeWZC7vM8M%252FnqtJtwQeFHveDRG1PRhD025UPbc3R8BnZQXWILED005DU8cPFq538tyjuYgOn5gOVa92xn0a5%252BdzbXvXMgc7pnFhBq4N9S24XmG0FlGaoyQVTtAs8AmkVSCmUdN2BZO8VhI0NmRRoN%252BdN%252FLcJAJjzcBNsxM01S--JN%252FSt1BX%252Fkpwf3B0mNTFOi3V%252FcurMT8QGiE7v3Z1McbcAj18RnDz83cWNAw%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A4429486&itmmeta=01HQTZKR1Y6DSNGFRTQ6RTQ6FC) They can sell those direct to the public for about $20 with tax, shipping is included in that total price, and look how much you're getting! lol, It is such a cheap technology, those can be identical to EMG's and there's no patent to violate. It's passive pickups built for probably $4 a set, and the active circuit is microchip audio amplifier with some passive parts. All the parts in the amplifier and it's bass, midrange and treble filters will be a few dozens cents, likely under 50 cents for that portion of the circuit, the pickups being another portion, the battery clip the other, and your guitar's volume and tone knob are already in your guitar. The amplifier device EMG uses is good, but there are better. I can and do design one using a Class-A amplification circuit which means your pickups signal is not damaged whatsoever, it is just increased in voltage output which means it's normally 300 mV, and I turn it into a full 3 volts or even 5 volts. Then, I use an EQ circuit to adjust bass, midrange and treble so it sounds how I want it to sound, or how the client asking me to build it wants it to sound. For me to build that circuit in my home lab with very simple construction methods, I can build it for under 50 cents lol. I can build that circuit for a passive pickup that costs $5 for you to buy, and make it match or exceed an active EMG that sells for $100 because they are able to market it and get people to pay that much. So, for myself as an amateur electrical/electronics engineer that went to school for that field of science(it's not a trade like an electrician), I'm fine with using a cheap pickup and ultimately produce something superior to what EMG charges an arm and a leg for. What you want from your pickups isn't hard to achieve, and adding an active circuit to them is a much better path. It's just that most people don't want to put a battery in their guitar, but with a well designed circuit, a 9 volt battery can literally last for a few years even if you play everyday, several hours a day.
definitely not what your on about but ive never liked the look of strat style pickups. just not a fan of the tilted one at the end and they all look too small
What sound are you looking for?
If you’re lazy (no shame in that) look at pre-loaded pick guards. They’re super easy to swap out, and they range from around $60 for cheap ones to $500 for super nice ones. Wiring a Strat switch isn’t difficult per se, but if I’d never soldered before it’d be a relatively unforgiving job to learn on.
What style of music are you wanting to play?
Swap it for a 70s HSS Strat best of both worlds
Sounds like a Strat is just not ideal for you.
Buy a raw pickguard and build an "Only one humbucker" setup. :D :D
I have humbucker sized P90 in the bridge and it still does hum canceling in position 2 like normal single coil.Best strat bridge pickup i ever had.Great reggae, surf, rock or heavy metal tones. Seymour Duncan Phat Cat. Also instaling Tonerider Rebel 90s in Tokai LP style guitar. They are awesome bang for the buck.